Zeiss Announces New, Fast 55mm Lens for DSLRs

OCTOBER 07, 2013

By Theano Nikitas

Zeiss has just announced the first of its new Otus line of pro lenses for 35mm cameras. Other Otus lenses will follow but, for now, the Otus 55mm, f/1.4 lens leads the way. It's available in Nikon F and Canon EF mounts, offers a 55mm field of view and an f/stop range of f/1.4-f/16. Zeiss compares the lens' performance on a DSLR to that of a medium format system and says that it's particularly well-suited for advertising and fashion photography.
Named after a type of owl known for its excellent vision in darkness, Zeiss cites not only the ability of the lens to perform well in low light but also its “outstanding sharpness and contrast rendition,” which extends into the corners of images. Other notable attributes include high image contrast, lack of longitudinal chromatic aberrations, minimal color defects and the absence of color artifacts along high contrast edges in a scene.
Both Nikon and Canon versions of the 55mm lens are manual focus only. The Nikon model is equipped with an aperture ring; the Canon is not. Both lenses are slated to ship globally at the end of October and are priced at $3,999.